If you're expecting gay nightlife to rival San Francisco or Sydney, you may well be disappointed. There are few areas of concentration and, apart from transvestites who hang out on street corners and during Carnaval, the scene is unexpectedly discreet.

A good starting point for an evening out is Rua Visconde Silva in Botafogo, which is lined with numerous gay and lesbian cafés, bars and restaurants. The best introduction to Rio's more traditional male gay society is Le Ball, a bar in the Travessa Cristiano Lacorte, just off Rua Miguel Lemos, at the Ipanema end of Copacabana. Opposite this, the Teatro Brigitte Blair hosts a gay transvestite ... READ MORE.